Mounting apparatus for fan

ABSTRACT

A mounting apparatus for mounting a fan in an enclosure, includes a rack, a first linkage piece and a second linkage piece. The rack is mounted in the enclosure, and has a receiving room and a partition bounding a side of the receiving room. The partition defines a notch. The first linkage piece is pivotally mounted on a first corner of the fan, and the second linkage piece is pivotally mounted on a second corner of the fan which is diagonal with the first corner. Adjacent portions of the first linkage piece and the second linkage piece are pivotally attached together. The first linkage piece includes a tab inserted into the notch of the partition when the fan is put into the receiving room to secure the fan in the receiving room. The second linkage piece is capable of pulled to cause the first linkage piece to rotate the tab out of the notch, thus freeing the fan.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present embodiment relates to mounting apparatus, particularly to a mounting apparatus for mounting multiple fans to an electronic device enclosure.

2. Description of Related Art

In a working computer system, a large amount of heat is generated from electric elements of the computer system. If the heat is not dissipated efficiently, the electric elements may be damaged. Therefore, heat-dissipating devices are desired.

A fan is often used as a conventional means to dissipate the heat from the computer system. In conventional means, a rack is provided for receiving a fan. A plurality of through holes is defined in the rack. In installing the fan to a plate of the computer system, the fan is received into the rack. The rack together with the fan is placed on the plate, which defines a plurality of screw holes therein. The through holes of the rack align with the screw holes of the plate. The fan is enclosed by the rack and the plate. A plurality of screws extends through the through holes and is screwed into the corresponding screw holes. The fan is thereby secured to the plate of the computer system. With this mounting means, it is well known that assembly and disassembly of the fans is very inconvenient.

Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the embodiments can be better understood with references to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the embodiments. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is an exploded, isometric view of an embodiment of a mounting apparatus and a fan, the mounting apparatus including a rack and a pair of linkage pieces;

FIG. 2 is an assembled view of the fan and the pair of linkage pieces of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an assembled view of the mounting apparatus and fan of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a view of detaching the fan from the mounting apparatus of FIG. 3

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a mounting apparatus for mounting multiple fans 50 in a computer enclosure 10. The mounting apparatus includes a rack 20, and a pair of linkage pieces 61 and 65 which are adapted to be mounted on a fan 50.

The rack 20 includes a pair of parallel sidewalls 21 and 23. A plurality of partitions 25 are secured between the sidewalls 21 and 23 to form a plurality of receiving rooms 27 between the sidewalls 21 and 23. Each receiving room 27 is configured to receive a fan 50. Each of the sidewalls 21 and 23 defines a plurality of vents 24 corresponding to each receiving room 27. Each of the partitions 25 defines a notch 251 and a guiding slot 253 adjacent the notch 251.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the fan 50 includes a shell 51, a group of blades 53 rotatably mounted in the shell 51, and a power plug 56 for providing power to the fan 50. Each corner of the shell 51 defines a pair of fan pivot holes 511.

The pair of linkage pieces includes a resilient first linkage piece 65 and a resilient second linkage piece 61. The first linkage piece 65 is a substantially vertical piece, and configured to be mounted on a vertical side of the fan 50. A pivot shaft 651 is formed on a top end of the first linkage piece 65. A pair of hooks 657 is formed on a bottom end of the first linkage piece 65. A first side of the first linkage piece 65 facing the fan 50, forms a pair of first linkage pivot pins 653 thereon. The pair of first linkage pivot pins 653 is adjacent with the bottom end of the first linkage piece 65. A second side of the first linkage piece 65, which faces away from the fan 50, forms a sliding block 655 configured to slide in the guiding slot 253 of the partition 25, and a tab 654 configured to be retained in the notch 251. A plurality of resilient pieces 656 protrude from the second side of the first linkage piece 65.

The second linkage piece 61 is configured to be mount on a horizontal side of the fan 50. A pair of second linkage pivot pins 611 is formed on a bottom surface of the second linkage piece 61, and adjacent one end of the second linkage piece 61. A pair of extension pieces 613 are formed on the bottom surface of the second linkage piece 61, and adjacent the opposite end of the second linkage piece 61. Each extension piece 613 defines a second linkage pivot hole 615. A pair of openings 616 is defined in the second linkage piece 61 capable of accepting at least an average sized adult finger.

The first linkage piece 65 and the second linkage piece 65 are firstly mounted on adjacent sides of the fan 50. The second linkage pivot pins 611 of the second linkage piece 61 is rotatably inserted in a pair of fan pivot holes 511 correspondingly, which is defined in a top-left corner of the fan 50. The first linkage pivot pin 653 of the first linkage piece 65 is rotatably inserted in another pair of fan pivot holes 511, which is defined in a bottom-right corner of the fan 50. Opposite ends of the pivot axis 651 of the first linkage piece 65 is rotatably inserted in the second linkage pivot holes 615 of the second linkage piece 61. The power plug 56 of the fan 50 is retained by the pair of hooks 657.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the fan 50 is then put into a receiving room 27 of the rack 20. The sliding block 655 of the first linkage piece 65 slides into the guiding slot 253 of the partition 25. The tab 654 of the first linkage piece 65 resists a top end of the partition 25. Then, the first linkage piece 65 is bent so that the tab 654 slides over the top end and then along the side of the partition 25. The guiding block 655 slides downwardly in the guiding slot 253 until the tab 654 reaches the notch 251 of the partition 25. Then, the first linkage piece 65 rebounds, thereby placing the tab 654 in the notch 251 of the partition 25. Therefore, the fan 50 is secured in the receiving room 27. Simultaneously, the resilient pieces 656 of the first linkage piece 65 are biased against the partition 25, and bend elastically.

To detach the fan 50, the second linkage piece 61 is pulled upwards through the opening 616. The second linkage piece 61 rotates about the second linkage pivot pins 611 and becomes bent, thereby driving the first linkage piece 65 to rotate about the first linkage pivot pins 653. The tab 654 slides out of the notch 251 of the sidewall 23 to detach the fan 50 from the sidewall 23. Therefore, the fan 50 can be removed from the receiving room 27 of the rack 20.

It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the present disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed. 

1. A mounting apparatus for mounting a fan in an enclosure, comprising: a rack mounted in the enclosure, the rack having a receiving room and a partition bounding a side of the receiving room, the partition defining a notch; a first linkage piece pivotablly mounted on a first corner of the fan, a second linkage piece pivotally mounted on a second corner of the fan, adjacent portions of the first linkage piece and the second linkage piece being pivotally attached together, the first linkage piece comprising a tab that is inserted into the notch of the partition, the second linkage piece is capable of being pulled to rotate the first linkage piece such that the tab will slide out of the notch.
 2. The mounting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second linkage piece defines at least one opening capable of accepting at least an average sized adult finger.
 3. The mounting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the partition defines a guiding slot, and the first linkage piece comprises a sliding block, the sliding block resides in the guiding slot and is capable of sliding in the guiding slot.
 4. The mounting apparatus of claim 1, wherein a plurality of resilient pieces protrudes from a side of the first linkage piece and are biased against the partition.
 5. The mounting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fan comprises a power plug, and a pair of hooks is formed on a bottom end of the first linkage piece, and the pair of hooks retain the power plug.
 6. The mounting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rack comprises a pair of parallel sidewalls, the partition is secured between the pair of sidewalls to form the receiving room.
 7. The mounting apparatus of claim 7, wherein each of the sidewalls of the rack defines a plurality of vents therein corresponding to the receiving room.
 8. The mounting apparatus of claim 1, wherein a portion of the second linkage piece, which is adjacent with the first linkage piece, forms a pair of extensions each of which defines a second linkage pivot hole; a portion of the first linkage piece, which is adjacent with the second linkage piece, forms a pivot axis to be rotatably inserted into the second linkage pivot holes to pivotally attach the second linkage piece and the first linkage piece.
 9. A mounting apparatus for mounting a fan in an enclosure, comprising: a rack mounted in the enclosure, the rack having a receiving room and a partition bounding a side of the receiving room, the partition defining a notch; a first linkage piece pivotally mounted on one side of the fan and facing to the partition, one end of the partition being accessible from outside of the receiving room; the first linkage piece comprising a tab inserted into the notch of the partition when the fan is put into the receiving room to secure the fan in the receiving room, the end of the partition capable of rotating the first linkage piece on the fan to remove the tab from the notch.
 10. The mounting apparatus of claim 9, wherein further comprising a second linkage piece pivotally mounted on another side of the fan, adjacent portions of the second linkage piece and the first linkage piece being pivotally attached together, the second linkage piece is capable of being pulled to cause the first linkage piece to rotate.
 11. The mounting apparatus of claim 10, wherein the second linkage piece defines at least one opening capable of accepting at least an average sized adult finger.
 12. The mounting apparatus of claim 10, wherein a portion of the second linkage piece forms a pair of extension pieces each of which defines a second linkage pivot hole; a portion of the first linkage piece forms a pivot axis to be rotatably inserted into the second linkage pivot holes attaching the second linkage piece and the first linkage piece.
 13. The mounting apparatus of claim 9, wherein the partition defines a guiding slot, and the first linkage piece comprises a sliding block; the sliding block resides in the guiding slot and is capable of sliding in the guiding slot; and a plurality of resilient pieces protrudes from a side of the first linkage piece and are biased against the partition
 14. The mounting apparatus of claim 9, wherein a plurality of resilient pieces protrude on a side of the first linkage piece and are capable of biased against the partition.
 15. The mounting apparatus of claim 9, wherein the fan comprises a power plug, and a pair of hooks is formed on a bottom end of the first linkage piece, and the pair of hooks retain the power plug therebetween.
 16. The mounting apparatus of claim 9, wherein the rack comprises a pair of parallel sidewalls, the partition is secured between the pair of sidewalls to form the receiving room thereamong.
 17. The mounting apparatus of claim 16, wherein each of the sidewalls of the rack defines a plurality of vents therein corresponding to the receiving rooms. 